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A review by asreadbykat
Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
3.0
True Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Content/Trigger Warnings: Mention/Discussion of self-inflicted abortion, descriptions of violence and surgery, mild descriptions of gore
Initial Thoughts: I enjoyed the first book in this duology, "Anatomy," enough that I was curious how this sequel would go. Despite the synopsis on the book jacket, I was hopeful that the work would be more about Hazel and her aspirations rather than the love story between her and Jack. In a way, I was right; but even though I did get that, I also got more of the love story than I wanted, although one call back did have me laughing again.
What I Disliked:
The Love Story
I will admit it: I wasn't a fan of Hazel and Jack in the first book, I wasn't a huge fan here. At least the rushed romance in the first book had the excuse of being a first, inexperienced love kind of thing. But reading about Hazel missing Jack and how much she loved him when, to the reader, she had only known him for such a long time -as an adult, it got very annoying and I was happy whenever we moved away from it. I was more interested in the secret society, Hazel's new position, and the princess's plans than I was by the romance. Despite "A Love Story" being in the title I feel like it shouldn't refer to the actual romance, because for me the REAL love story should be Hazel and her interest in surgery. Anything else should just fade to the background.
The Pacing
Honestly, at first this book is decently paced; I had absolutely no problems with the pacing until we got to the last third or so -when Jack shows up, and suddenly everything with Beecham, the reunion with Jack, the dilemma with the princess, the secrets of the society -all of them are rushed through so fast it just felt underwhelming. Which is disappointing, because I was really enjoying the book up until that point.
"Surgeon"
Hazel is referred to as a surgeon or physician throughout the novel. Yet after the first hundred or so pages, we don't really get much of that. We get a couple of mentions of it here and there, a lot of mentions of a book she's working on -but for the majority of the novel, she's not really seen working as a surgeon or studying for it. It's all mentioned in passing. And yes, I know, female physicians were disregarded at that time, but still. She could have at least started doing in London what she had done in Edinburgh.
What I Liked:
The Initial Focus
The first 3/4s of the book are almost completely focused on Hazel and her interests and plights, and it made the story so much more interesting. I learned more about Hazel as a character in this sequel than I did in the first novel. In "Anatomy," all I knew was she was a girl who wanted to be a surgeon. Here, we actually get to see that side of her. We can see her using her brain to solve problems, or to think things through. We can truly see how much she cares about what she does, and the kind of personality she has. As much as the last fourth of the book frustrated me, the majority of the story was just what I wanted and I only wish I had gotten more of it.
The Historical Mentions/Uses
The author brings in a lot of famous historical figures, facts, and events during the book. Not all of them are factual (some are explained in the author's note at the end of the novel) but it was fun seeing some familiar names pop up. I greatly enjoyed a joke about Keats made by a certain famous poet, and the names and ideas I didn't recognize interested me enough to look them up. It makes sense to make references like these when discussing immortality, and I enjoyed the way the author did that here.
The Graveyard Callback
As much as I wasn't a big fan of the romance, anyone who's read the first book will likely recall a very specific scene in a grave in a kirkyard. There's a callback to that in this book that I appreciated as much as I laughed at it. I have to give the author some kudos; she's consistent.
The Writing
Despite the story itself being a bit disappointing in some aspects, the author's style and voice is still one that I very much enjoy. You can tell she's writing just to enjoy telling her story, which means the story is very easy and fun to read.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this sequel more than I enjoyed the first book, but there were still aspects that I didn't enjoy in the first one that carried over to this one. However, it's still a solid read and I definitely recommend it if you enjoyed the first novel.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Mention/Discussion of self-inflicted abortion, descriptions of violence and surgery, mild descriptions of gore
Initial Thoughts: I enjoyed the first book in this duology, "Anatomy," enough that I was curious how this sequel would go. Despite the synopsis on the book jacket, I was hopeful that the work would be more about Hazel and her aspirations rather than the love story between her and Jack. In a way, I was right; but even though I did get that, I also got more of the love story than I wanted, although one call back did have me laughing again.
What I Disliked:
The Love Story
I will admit it: I wasn't a fan of Hazel and Jack in the first book, I wasn't a huge fan here. At least the rushed romance in the first book had the excuse of being a first, inexperienced love kind of thing. But reading about Hazel missing Jack and how much she loved him when, to the reader, she had only known him for such a long time -as an adult, it got very annoying and I was happy whenever we moved away from it. I was more interested in the secret society, Hazel's new position, and the princess's plans than I was by the romance. Despite "A Love Story" being in the title I feel like it shouldn't refer to the actual romance, because for me the REAL love story should be Hazel and her interest in surgery. Anything else should just fade to the background.
The Pacing
Honestly, at first this book is decently paced; I had absolutely no problems with the pacing until we got to the last third or so -when Jack shows up, and suddenly everything with Beecham, the reunion with Jack, the dilemma with the princess, the secrets of the society -all of them are rushed through so fast it just felt underwhelming. Which is disappointing, because I was really enjoying the book up until that point.
"Surgeon"
Hazel is referred to as a surgeon or physician throughout the novel. Yet after the first hundred or so pages, we don't really get much of that. We get a couple of mentions of it here and there, a lot of mentions of a book she's working on -but for the majority of the novel, she's not really seen working as a surgeon or studying for it. It's all mentioned in passing. And yes, I know, female physicians were disregarded at that time, but still. She could have at least started doing in London what she had done in Edinburgh.
What I Liked:
The Initial Focus
The first 3/4s of the book are almost completely focused on Hazel and her interests and plights, and it made the story so much more interesting. I learned more about Hazel as a character in this sequel than I did in the first novel. In "Anatomy," all I knew was she was a girl who wanted to be a surgeon. Here, we actually get to see that side of her. We can see her using her brain to solve problems, or to think things through. We can truly see how much she cares about what she does, and the kind of personality she has. As much as the last fourth of the book frustrated me, the majority of the story was just what I wanted and I only wish I had gotten more of it.
The Historical Mentions/Uses
The author brings in a lot of famous historical figures, facts, and events during the book. Not all of them are factual (some are explained in the author's note at the end of the novel) but it was fun seeing some familiar names pop up. I greatly enjoyed a joke about Keats made by a certain famous poet, and the names and ideas I didn't recognize interested me enough to look them up. It makes sense to make references like these when discussing immortality, and I enjoyed the way the author did that here.
The Graveyard Callback
As much as I wasn't a big fan of the romance, anyone who's read the first book will likely recall a very specific scene in a grave in a kirkyard. There's a callback to that in this book that I appreciated as much as I laughed at it. I have to give the author some kudos; she's consistent.
The Writing
Despite the story itself being a bit disappointing in some aspects, the author's style and voice is still one that I very much enjoy. You can tell she's writing just to enjoy telling her story, which means the story is very easy and fun to read.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this sequel more than I enjoyed the first book, but there were still aspects that I didn't enjoy in the first one that carried over to this one. However, it's still a solid read and I definitely recommend it if you enjoyed the first novel.